Ontogeny of the Bovine Immune Response

Abstract
The ontogenesis of the bovine immune response was studied in three embryos (Escherichia coli, Lactobacillus sp. and Mima polymorpha var. oxidans were isolated from four fetuses. Antibodies that caused the agglutination of maternal red blood cells were present in 8 of 20 bovine fetal serum samples. The antibodies were 2-mercaptoethanol sensitive and partially heat resistant (56 C for 30 min). The ontogeny of the bovine immune response and human immune response were compared, and it was suggested that the similarities were primarily due to the two species having the same approximate gestation period of 280 days.